Recently, Google Local Business Center changed its name to the more appropriate Google Places as any place, not just businesses, can have a listing. It made me wonder how many places have actually claimed their page on Google, so I did an experiment. I searched for local businesses in the Indianapolis area and discovered some shocking results. Only one in five has claimed their page!

To determine if your page has been claimed, go to Google Maps and search for your company by name. When you find it, click on the "more info" link and it should take you straight to your Place Page. In the upper right hand corner, if it says "Owner-verified listing" somebody in your organization has claimed your page. If it says "Edit this place" or "Business owner?" it is unclaimed.

If your business hasn't claimed your Place Page yet, here are five reasons to get the ball rolling:

1) Details and Posts
This is the main section with basic information such as hours of operation, address, phone number, and public transportation routes. Be sure to thoroughly fill out the description field with your main keyword phrases. One cool feature you will find here is the ability for business owners to post to the Place Page. Posts are limited to 160 characters, but it gives Google users recent updates about your business whether you're promoting an event or selling new products.
 
2) Photos and Videos
Photos and videos are a great way to enhance your Place Page. Only business owners who have verified their business can upload photos and videos, but they can also come from various sources on the web. Businesses are limited to 10 photos and 5 videos for each listing. It's always a good idea to have a picture of your logo, an exterior shot of your location, and a few smiling faces.

3) Coupons
Coupons are great for turning potential clients into customers. This feature lets you publish online coupons - with or without the scissors. When you add a new coupon to your Place Page, by default it will be available on mobile devices with a specially-formatted page displaying details for redemption. Users are welcome to do it the old-fashioned way with ink and paper as well.

4) Reviews
A positive review can do wonders for your company. In Google Places, reviews can come from Google Map users, third-party providers (like Trip Advisor or Urban Spoon), and can also be collected from the web. Of course, you need to prepare yourself for potential negative reviews, but you do have some measure of control over the content once you claim ownership.

5) Nearby Places You Might Like
Google doesn't limit suggestions by similar characteristics, instead listing places you might find interesting. For example, I use Google Maps to find movie theaters on vacation. If I find a theatre next to a McDonald's, and a theatre next to a Five Guys Burgers and Fries, I'm going to the one next to Five Guys.

Google's Place Page is an amazing tool for your business - and it's free! Invest some time and energy and turn your Place Page into an asset for your business.

I frequently attend networking events during which I meet a variety of business owners. Often we exchange business cards and I continue to notice a trend which disturbs me: the use of consumer email as a business email address.

I often see email addresses using the domain “sbcglobal.net”, “yahoo.com”, or (shudder) “aol.com” listed on a business card. This really makes me cringe. It’s poor branding, and says to the world that your business has not invested in a proper email system. It’s also risky to operate your business on a free system or a system that is designed for consumer email due to the lack of support and functionality.

When you are using a proper email system for business, your email address will match the address of your website. For example, my email address is michael@spinweb.net, which matches my company’s website address: www.spinweb.net.

There are many options for excellent business email. At SpinWeb, we provide Google Apps for Business for our clients, which gives them a complete email, calendaring, documents, and collaboration system. Other companies may want to consider using Microsoft Exchange, which is a great business communications system. Scott Sells at ZingTech provides an excellent Exchange solution.

Let’s get rid of the consumer email addresses on business cards. Brand your business properly and use a system you can rely on.

Has your organization recently (or ever) gone through a website redesign project? If so, chances are it was a bit overwhelming and probably a bit frustrating, as well. At SpinWeb, we understand that building a new website for your organization can be a big, scary, mysterious project. This is why most organizations put it off for so long and sometimes take a long time to choose a firm and get it done.

However, at SpinWeb we have changed all that. We understand that the world of website technology and design can be mysterious and that many organizations feel that their expectations were not met during their last project. For this reason, we have developed a tool that we call the Website Blueprint.

In the past, website design and development firms would enter into the quoting process too early and would eagerly make up estimates based on best guesses. This would usually lead to projects going over budget and over time. This also meant that basically everyone involved was unhappy.

At SpinWeb, we make it much easier to try us out. Rather than commit to a big proposal for a big website all at once, we simply ask you to buy a Blueprint. This Blueprint contains site maps, wire frames, module specs, design guides, and work flow. In short, it is an entire website plan that maps out exactly how your website will function and how it will be structured. Once the Blueprint is finished, it also contains an exact figure for the investment of the website project. There are no hourly fees or vague estimates. We tell you exactly how much your new website will cost. If the budget needs to decrease, we will simply revise the Blueprint until we match your budget.

Once the Blueprint is complete, you own it and can decide what to do with it. The vast majority of the time, our clients will continue the process and give us the opportunity to create a new website. However, there is no obligation to continue with SpinWeb and any client who is not satisfied can take his or her Blueprint and continue the project somewhere else. With our Blueprint model, the client is always in control of costs and functionality and everything is transparent and predictable.

A Blueprint leads to more successful web projects because:

• It tells the design team exactly how to lay out the website
• It tells the development team exactly how the website should function
• It clearly spells out all the costs involved
• It puts the client in control of the project budget
• It helps everyone make good decisions early in the process
• It eliminates surprises

Our clients love this because they can "test drive" SpinWeb without a bigger commitment. Since a Blueprint is less than $1,000, it's a very low-risk way of trying us out while also getting a website plan mapped out at the same time.

We have found that the Blueprint process leads to predictable costs, on-time delivery, and clear expectations. This ensures that everyone is happy and that we are able to deliver websites that help our clients grow while staying within a budget that is comfortable for them.

Would you like to see a sample Blueprint or learn more about our process? Please let us know.

Modern websites should follow some standard best practices in design and usability in order to be effective as marketing and communications tools. Smart businesses understand that following these best practices leads to increased sales and revenue.

However, nonprofits also need to understand how design and usability affects their revenue. Nonprofits are interested in many of the same things that businesses are: increasing revenue, building trust, and reaching the right audience.

For some reason, many nonprofits seems to skimp on marketing and communications because they feel that they need to do everything on a shoestring budget just because of their nonprofit status. I believe that the opposite is true and that nonprofits should be especially conscious of investing in the right tools for marketing successfully.

So how does a nonprofit use the web to grow? Here are a few ways.

Invest in great design. Website visitors make snap judgments about your organization based on the quality of your website. If your website looks outdated, cheap, and unprofessional, what assurance do I have that my donation will be used effectively?

Invest in quality content. Many nonprofit websites have very little content or poorly-written content on their websites. Your website must tell a story for donors, volunteers, and the media. Make sure researchers can find the information they need to understand your mission.

Don't be afraid to ask for money. Many nonprofit websites seem to forget that they need money and for some reason make it very difficult to make a donation. Be sure that you accept online donations via credit card. The donation button should be easy to find and easy to use. Remove barriers to making a donation and giving will increase.

Understand your audiences. Nonprofits need to target multiple audiences: donors, volunteers, sponsors, and the media. Be sure your nonprofit website has the right tools for all these groups. The media will want press releases and press kits. Volunteers will want clear job descriptions and specifications. Donors will want easy ways to give and will want to know how their money is being used. Event sponsors want to be able to sign up quickly online.

Keep content fresh. Nonprofit websites need to pay special attention to how current website content is. Interested parties want to see that your organization is making a difference and that your mission is current. Blogs and press releases are a great way to tell your story and keep your message fresh. If possible, update content at least once a week.

It's tempting to try to design and maintain a nonprofit website on the cheap, but this does a disservice to your mission. By investing in a high-quality web presence, your nonprofit will actually become more successful in the long run and attract more donations, sponsors, and volunteers.

Won't this help you make a difference?

In today’s market, credit unions are enjoying renewed popularity among consumers due to their membership-driven policies, personal service, and local community ties. Many people are drawn to these features of their local credit unions and are starting with research on the web.

For this reason, progressive credit unions must capture the attention of these researchers with a compelling online story via a modern corporate website.

Great design. This should be obvious but many credit unions still utilize outdated websites with poor design and awkward usability which hurts their credibility. Prospective customers are making decisions about where to put their money. They need to feel trust and a strong design is necessary to communicate brand integrity. Credit unions should focus on a clean, crisp design that stays very content-driven.

Social media. Today’s consumers are on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter and they sometimes read blogs. Smart credit unions will take advantage of this by creating special promotions for “fans” or “followers” on these networks in order to build a list of permission-based constituents. Each presence on a social network links back to the appropriate content piece on the credit union website.

Blogging. Every credit union website should feature a blog. Educational blogging helps build authority and places the credit union in a position of “trusted advisor” to its customers which opens the door to up-selling additional products. Blogging also boosts search engine rankings.

Up-to-date rates. When consumers are researching your credit union online, makes it easy for them to find rates. Keep in mind that your rates do not have to be the best. If you post your rates clearly and your competition keeps it a secret, you will create more trust in prospective customers because you are giving them an easy path to information, which increases their comfort level.

Online registration for seminars/webinars. Being very member-focused, credit unions are in a great position to offer educational seminars to their customers. Make it easy for people to sign up for these events via your website. Also consider conducting webinars to allow your customers and prospective customers to learn valuable financial information by participating from their computers over the Internet.

Usability. Credit union websites should pay strict heed to common usability norms. Navigation should be in logical places, nav items should use common naming conventions, and sectional or sub-navs should be well-structured. Since credit unions typically have so much content to publish, card sorting exercises should be used to determine the most logical structure to present to users. Over and over, most organizations are finding that “About Us” and “Contact Us” are the two most popular nave items that website visitors click on. Don’t deviate from common conventions like these.

Professional content. The underlying foundation of all these other tools is content. On the web, content must be clear, concise, and logical. Follow the inverted pyramid rule and keep it simple. Make sure your content is written by a professional to ensure that website visitors feel a sense of trust and credibility as they research your credit union.

As member-focused financial organizations that value education and community, credit unions are in a unique position to connect with customers using web tools like never before.